Jessyn basks in an almost drunken relief after reuniting with her brother, Jellit, and meeting two new survivors from another human workgroup: the flamboyant storyteller Allstin and the worn-down but attentive Llaren Morse. Crowded into Jellit’s better quarters, the group jokes and swaps first-impressions of captivity, and Jessyn is briefly able to feel human again.

As the conversation turns practical, Dafyd asks whether the Carryx “librarian” who assigned their work is the same one Jellit’s group had, but no one can identify it; Allstin jokes that they should be armed before trying to seek it out. Tonner quickly volunteers to return with Allstin and Llaren, offering Jellit his room, and Rickar and Campar decide to go too, leaving Jessyn, Jellit, Dafyd, Else, and Synnia behind.

Back in the shared space, the remaining group forms a circle on the floor and trades stories of the transport and the workrooms: violence, breakdowns, coping rituals, and strange communal acts like a choir singing in “hell.” Dafyd and Synnia describe the earlier attempted coup and the sickness that followed, and the storytelling turns their trauma into something they can briefly handle together.

Jessyn asks how many human groups exist, and Jellit explains he has contacted three groups himself and that they have located a couple dozen in total, with more likely still scattered. Else credits Dafyd with tracking Jellit down after they gained a way to communicate, explaining that Dafyd asked other prisoners about a person who “smelled like Jessyn,” prompting speculation that the Carryx’s red shower cleanser may be changing human scent to avoid dangerous cross-signals with chemorecepting species.

Llaren’s unease punctures the warmth when he notes they speak of home in the past tense, and the night’s mood collapses into quiet routines and sleep. Jessyn can’t rest; she is haunted by memories of her old life and by anger at the permanence of their captivity. Wandering the hall, Jessyn finds Synnia’s door open and sees Llaren speaking privately with her; Jessyn hears Synnia agree, “Yes, tell him I’ll help,” before both act as if nothing is wrong, leaving Jessyn with the sense that something dangerous is underway.